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Keywords: Loneliness

  • AUSTRALIA

    The geography of loneliness

    • John Chesterman and Ilan Wiesel
    • 01 March 2024

    The key to combatting increasing levels of loneliness and social isolation will likely start in the way we think about cities, public spaces and social care to enable meaningful connections between people, and help to guard against harms caused by habitual loneliness. But we'll need to get creative.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Making sense of Taylor Swift

    • David Halliday
    • 26 February 2024

    Taylor Swift does something transformative to people like my sister that other pop stars don’t. Other musicians have fans, Taylor has disciples. So what is it about Swift that evokes a sort of conversion experience? Is it just the music?

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  • EDUCATION

    Why we need a new approach to school bullying

    • Ben Lohmeyer
    • 07 February 2024
    2 Comments

    In a hierarchical society, we routinely celebrate and reward various dominating and competitive behaviour. When children and young people replicate this in the playground, we call it bullying. Anti-bullying measures may be more effective shifting the focus away from perpetrators and on the social and institutional context. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Re-building the commons: In conversation with Joshua Lourensz

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 06 February 2024

    In a world that has become increasingly more divided in the aftermath of the pandemic, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Victoria Joshua Lourensz is questioning how we might best re-develop a sense of the commons to reignite our communities and foster social responsibility?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Fargo and reconciling debt

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 25 January 2024

    The world of Fargo, like ours, is a fallen one, and it’s clear at the end of this season that the cycle of violence will continue. But we’re also left with a strong hope that some of the characters might have found a way out of that hellish cycle of debt and restitution. And if there’s hope for them, there’s hope for us all.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Lost boy in a land of terror and beauty

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 25 January 2024

    Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Fiona McFarlane's The Sun Walks Down asks of the reader: Is art more important than life? What is the nature of courage? How should an individual relate to their own environment?

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Tidings of joy in an ebb tide

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 19 December 2023
    3 Comments

    While a time of joy and celebration for many, Christmas amplifies hardships like loneliness and poverty for others. This year, the festive season is overshadowed by global issues such as war, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, reminding us of its origins in a period of oppression and uncertainty. 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The radical empathy of Elizabeth Strout

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 01 September 2023
    1 Comment

    The best novels teach us about the world and about ourselves. In her Lucy Barton books, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Elizabeth Strout knows about loneliness and the solitary nature of life but also shows us ways in which we are all connected.

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  • RELIGION

    Culture and conspiracy: In conversation with Fr Gerald Arbuckle

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 09 June 2023
    5 Comments

    Known for incisive insights into societal issues like fundamentalism, loneliness, and abuse, theologian and cultural anthropologist Fr Gerald Arbuckle is now examining the rise of conspiracy theories. In conversation with Michael McVeigh, Arbuckle discusses his work, cultural anthropology, and the impact of 'cultural trauma'.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    ‘A spiritual notion’: The Voice and the yearnings of our hearts

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 05 May 2023
    1 Comment

    Recent books Statements from the Soul and An Indigenous Voice to Parliament explore different perspectives on the Uluru Statement, including the relationship between the land and Indigenous people and the legal impact of the proposed constitutional change, while demonstrating the need to appeal to hearts and minds in rallying support for an Indigenous Voice.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    A little more conversation a little less action

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 17 April 2023

    Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has introduced 'Kletskassa' or 'chat checkouts' for customers who want a little conversation with the cashier. In today's automated world, where human interactions are increasingly impersonal, small moments of human connection can make a big difference in combatting loneliness in our communities.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The book corner: Act of Oblivion

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 25 November 2022

    In August 1660, the English Parliament passed the Indemnity and Oblivion Act, targeting those involved in the trial and execution of Charles I. The death warrant for Charles I had been signed by 59 judges, and 31 of them were still alive in 1660. Those caught suffered a terrible death of being hanged, drawn and quartered. Pursuit of the guilty was unremitting. Act of Oblivion follows the careers of three regicides and Civil War veterans who fled to the British colonies in America. 

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